Essay Grief and Bereavement in The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye has been described, analyzed, rebuffed, and critiqued over the years. Each writer expresses a different point of view: It is a story reflecting teen-agers talk--thoughts-emotions--actions; or angst. I believe it is an adults reflection of his own unresolved grief and bereavements. That adult is the author, J.D. Salinger. He uses his main character, Holden, as the voice to vent the psychological misery he will not expose -or admit to. If there are 785 instances of profanity in the book, I contend there are well over a hundred scenes where Holden used the word depressed. DAmbrosio presents this same thought saying, It should be obvious by now that I dont see The Catcher in the Rye as†¦show more content†¦He believes that there is something in Salingers own life that is being portrayed through the character Holden. Ambrosio does not believe that this is a coming-of-age, or the anxious life of a teen-ager story. Instead, he believes the story is a search for a disturbing and extreme loss of identity. The book is, he claims, All about suicide and silence(31). I found Ambrosios correlations to be very telling and supportive of my thesis. Early in Salingers life, he faced one the cultural illnesses widespread in the North Eastern states of America. It was the virulent disease of anti-Semitism. Salinger lived in New York City, where he was raised as the son of Jewish parents. The 1920s and 1930s were a time in America when Anti-Semitism was written into the policies of many institutions. His heritage automatically deprived him from attending the best colleges: Harvard, Yale, and Dartmouth. He was prevented from belonging to certain social clubs, from certain professions, and from the rank of officer in the U. S. Military. Reporters and editors, trying to interview Salinger about his early life, ran into a prickly silent wall. Margaret, his daughter reveals why. During the Depression and World War 11, from 1939 to 1945, anti Semitism was at its peak. Jews met a wall of discrimination at colleges, clubs, and career opportunities. Prior to 1948, it was not uncommonShow MoreRelatedCharacteristics Of Holden Caulfield1716 Words   |  7 Pages‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is a classic novel set in the 1950’s. Holden Caulfield is a young 16 year old boy walking through life, hardships, and criticism towards life. Throughout Holden’s story, his odd behavior is displayed in a manner which opens the readers’ eyes to an entirely new persona. One that sees the worst in everything, one that doesn’t see the reality of things, a mind unable to decipher the beauty which the world holds within. Through his behavior and thoughts, the reader is led to